Vlog: Miscellaneous Vlog | September & October 2017

Over the past few weeks I've been recording random video clips of exciting things I've been participating in. Time got away from me and I never posted any of the footage, so I thought I'd throw it all into one miscellaneous vlog! In this vlog you'll see me attending the Katy Perry concert at the Garden, running the Wineglass Marathon in Corning, NY, and getting the chance to watch the Patriots vs. Chargers game from some amazing seats! It was great to look back on these awesome memories, so I'm excited to share them with you all! I hope you enjoy. :)

Vlog: New Found Glory #20YearsofPopPunk Tour - BOSTON

Brett and I ventured to Boston a couple weeks ago to see the Boston stop of New Found Glory's @0 Years of Pop Punk tour and it. was. awesome. We went on the second night when they were playing the entirety of Stick & Stones and their self-titled album. It was just as amazing as I was anticipating and I am so happy I made the call to vlog a bit of the show. I didn't record the whole thing (I wanted to enjoy the majority of the show without worrying about getting nice, stable footage) but recorded a nice slice of the evening that I'll always look back on and smile. I love that NFG is still doing their thing after so many years and remind me with every show why they've been my favorite band for as long as they have been! Anyway, I hope you enjoy the video below! :)

A Few of my Favorite Links {#23}

Hey y'all! It's been quite an eventful week/weekend thus far. I've officially moved out of my apartment and in with Brett which is super exciting! We spend most of this past weekend packing, moving, and settling into *our* new space. We're adjusting back into sharing space with one another full-time but it is so nice to only be a couple of steps away at any given moment and planning dinner every night. There are still some boxes to be unpacked and furniture to be moved but our place will feel like our home very very soon! 

We will be celebrating Fourth of July weekend with a Weezer concert tomorrow (thanks for the tickets, Lindz!) and a trip to New Hampshire to spend the actual holiday on the lake with my whole fam which includes a visit from my South Carolinian sister! It will be good to all be together again. That hasn't happened since Thanksgiving! I hope you all are planning fun, eventful holiday weekends as well!

I'm really happy with this month's selection of favorite links! It's a good combination of things that I love and things that I'm looking forward to this season. I hope that you can find something to enjoy in this handful of internet gems and be sure to share your favorite links of the moment in the comments!

Game of Thrones Houses as Pokémon 

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Talk about two of my geekiest obsessions colliding to make something awesome! This is a series of illustrations created by Kaleb Raleigh that reimagines the house sigils of Game of Thrones as Pokémon evolutions! (The series is titled A Song of Blue & Red... awesome.) All of these are pretty awesome and accurate to what I would have imagined them to be. Of course, I had to share with you my favorite house here (#TeamTargaryen fo' lyfe) but I strongly encourage you to click the link and check out the other houses as well!

The Little Prince Official US Release Trailer



The Little Prince is one of my all time favorite stories and I am OVER THE MOON that it is being released as an animated feature on Netflix in July. I guess this film was dropped by its original studio at some point in the process so I am extremely happy that Netflix did the smart thing and picked it back up! If you haven't read The Little Prince, I strongly - STRONGLY - encourage you to do so and be just as excited as me that this is happening!
Simone Biles Floor Routine at the P&G Gymnastics Championship
Raise your hand if you're excited for the Olympics! ME: *flails arms both arms around in the air like an idiot* So I've been watching some of the Olympic trials and championships for Olympic sports in preparation for the summer games and getting SO PUMPED for the Olympics! It's just over a month away and I can't wait to sit on the couch all month and be amazed at how talented these athletes are while I shove handfuls of chips and Oreos into my face. This gymnast, Simone Biles, is incredible and a force to be reckoned with. Just look at this floor routine - especially that last pass. WOW. She won this championship and will be going to the Olympic trials for the Women's team, but I don't have a doubt (barring disaster) that she will be representing the USA in Rio. She is amazing! Strawberry Ravioli with Balsamic and Basil

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This recipe looks incredible. It looks complex to make, but sooooo delicious to eat. And a perfect dish for summer, too! The blogger that wrote about this recipe said that it took them a few attempts to make it the way it appears in the image above (I'm pretty sure that making pasta is ALWAYS a pain in the ass) but that the pay off is super worth it. I would love to attempt this recipe some time this summer because it looks so yummy!

What links have you been loving lately?

Fast & Fun Fall

What a crazy fall it's been! October flew right by with craziness at work and and was jam packed with fun things every weekend. It's true that life seems to go by faster with each passing year, but I personally think it's because as you grow older life gets more and more fun! :) Anywho, here's what I've been up to these last few weeks.

We were all clearly thrilled to be at trivia. Especially Cullen.

Erin, Cullen, and I hit The Quarters after work a two weeks ago for round 2 of Harry Potter Trivia! We went a few months ago for the first round of HP Trivia and didn't do so great. I think we did a bit better the second time around (this time we were named "Gilderoy Pop and Lockharts" XD) but it was packed with people so being competitive was tough for everyone. (There were teams that got literally every question right >_>... putting my HP knowledge to SHAME!) We still had fun, though, which is what matters the most!

1. Reunited with Brittany & Matt at the Pageant!

2. The Homecoming Court in their best duds!

Later in the week I headed to BSU for the Homecoming Pageant! The Pageant is my absolute favorite event that is put on every year, and this year was extra special because I knew pretty much the entire Homecoming Court through working with them during Orientation or through PC. As it does every year, the court made me laugh with their talents and costumes, and made my heart melt with their interview answers. Bridgewater students love their university and every year the seniors in the court reflect on their time at BSU - it gets REAL emotional and I love it. I'm so happy I was able to make it back to campus for this special event.

1 & 2. Jenna toting Erin around in the Student Life wagon after wrapping up FallFest! XD

3 & 4. Staff photo day! We love Dinosaur Office - can you tell?

As I mentioned before, work's been crazy busy. I've found that this part of the year has been even more hectic than September (at least for my position) which is crazytown to think! In the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving Break we have multiple events on almost every Friday & Saturdthat ay, meaning the time leading up to the events is spent answering emails, holding meetings, and on Fridays and Saturdays I hang out at work til the wee hours of the morning. I'm so happy that I love the work I do, but I'm even happier that I have amazing colleagues to make the craziness all bearable! (Examples of how we laugh through the stress above!)

Birthday cake surprise at midnight!

Brett had his golden birthday last week - 27 on the 27th! Unfortunately he had to work all day, but I surprised him at midnight with a slice of chocolate cake, brought him some lunch, and we we able to have some Chinese food for dinner (our fave)! Later on in the week we were able to have some fun (Halloween weekend!!!) so having a nice low-key birthday was actually pretty nice. :)

1. I was Katniss at work on the 30th - yes that's a marshmallow bow!

2. New Found Glory at the Palladium! 3. My lovely date to the #NFGYC show!
4. Our costume for *official* Halloween - a Blue Barracuda & a Temple Guard from Legends of the Hidden Temple!

Then, my favorite part of the year, Halloween! This year was particularly fun because the holiday fell on a Saturday which works perfectly for both Brett and my schedules and we were able to plan lots of fun activities for ourselves! On Friday our office hosted a trick-or-treat for students so we all dressed up in costumes. I was dressed at Katniss from The Hunger Games and was complete with a marshmallow bow and arrow (these are the things you'll find in your office when you work in Student Activities). Everyone else had great costumes, so I highly encourage you to check out our Instagram page to check them out!

Friday evening was something that Brett and I had been waiting for since June - the New Found Glory & Yellowcard concert at the Palladium! NFG and Yellowcard both played for about an hour and it. was. awesome. It's so amazing to see such a passionate crowd and performances that had so much energy after nearly 20 years of each band being together. We had a blast belting out nearly every song of both sets and dancing around. Even though each set was an hour I wish they could have been longer! Hopefully, because NFG's 20 year anniversary is in 2017, they'll be touring again very soon!

Finally, on the 31st, we were able to hang out with Erin, Cullen, Tim, and a bunch of their friends for a Halloween party! Brett and I went as a Blue Barracuda and a Temple Guard from Legends of the Hidden Temple, a Nickelodeon game show from we were kids. True 90's kids right here! I loved our costumes this year and we got a lot of compliments on them (though there were quite a few people who didn't understand what we were, haha!). We had a really great time hanging out with everyone and having a fun, relaxing time for a change!

Clearly, things have been crazy, but they've been lots of fun as well!

How have things been for you all?

Favorite Fall Things

Happy fall, everyone! It's getting chilly here in the northeast, and though I'll miss lazy days of lying in the sunshine and staying outside until the sun sets at 10pm (I'll always be a summer girl at heart), this time of year is always super exciting in college land. First year students figuring things out and finding their independence, students joining new organizations and taking chances, and the whole community coming together with pride for the school. Love it!

Fall also brings my favorite holiday evereverever - Halloween! :D I got so excited this morning when I realized that it's almost the end of September and soon it will be acceptable to start hanging up Halloween decorations around my apartment! Halloween's just one of those holidays that's pure fun, like New Year's or the 4th of July. There isn't an obligation to celebrate, participate, or buy anything. It's completely stress free, and that's what makes it so great! This year I'll be away at a conference on the 31st, so we'll be celebrating the weekend before with a combination Halloween/Brett's birthday party with all sorts of friends. Can't wait!

Though I hate the cold weather, I'm happy it's finally acceptable to wear comfy sweaters, cute tights, high boots, and cozy scarves (even though I wear them no matter the temperature :P), drink hot coffee, chocolate, and apple cider, and watch the Patriots and throw a tailgate party every weekend. Not to mention How I Met Your Mother is back, and the Bruins will be opening their season next week! I'll always pick summer as my favorite season, but I guess fall has grown on me in the past few years. I can't wait to share with you all this fall has in store for me!

What are your favorite things about fall?

Escape to New Hampshire

On Wednesday, Brett and I escaped from campus up to my family's house in New Hampshire for a few days. It was great spending time with my parents and dogs, as well as getting some awesome time to just enjoy the outdoors together. Nothing's better than some lake-side therapy!